The Katsina State Government has revived its irrigation schemes to enable displaced farmers in parts of the area to continue their work without molestation.
Several farmers and entire communities, especially from the frontline areas with links to the Rugu Forest, have continued to abandon their ancestral homes due to the murderous activities of bandits and terrorists operating in the state.
According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Aminu Garba Waziri, “We have 32 irrigation schemes across the State and we have revived them to the extent that one irrigation scheme alone is capable of sustaining up to 10 communities, farming and earning a living”.
Waziri, who spoke at a media parley organised by the Katsina Media Forum, also explained the governments decision to suspend the annual distribution of fertilisers to farmers, arguing that unscrupulous politicians exploited it to the detriment of genuine farmers.
He said that the government equally embarked on a project of desilting the canals and reviving the dams also as further measures to accommodate displaced farmers, while the government distributes improved seedlings to farmers at 50 percent discount on the actual costs.
Waziri said that the Government decided to stop the hitherto colourful display of fertilizer distribution because, at the end of the day, politicians hijack the products and the real farmers dont get what they need.
